"She is coming for that Oscar," Marie Claire's interim style director, Ana Colón, told me after seeing Ariana Grande's look at the Wicked: For Good Paris premiere. Though Grande missed the sequel's São Paulo red carpet, she more than made up for it in France.
Grande went all-out for her first Wicked: For Good screening on November 7. Her stylist, Law Roach, sourced a vintage Lili's Diamond gown from Timeless Vixen, a secondhand boutique in Beverly Hills. Its debut year? 1950, making it a find fit for an Old Hollywood star.
Grande channeled her co-star Cynthia Erivo's usual color palette through the black A-line gown, featuring spaghetti-thin straps, a concealed corset, and a matching cape. Glinda-esque details include the coat's peek-a-boo satin lining, in the character's signature shade of fuchsia pink. Vibrant poppy-inspired flowers decorated the dress's neckline. In this context, the embellishment read like a three-dimensional homage to the Wizard of Oz, when the Wicked Witch uses poppies to bewitch Dorothy and her companions on the Yellow Brick Road to sleep.
Ariana Grande channeled her on-screen alter-ego in a vintage circa-1950 gown.
The dress wasn't a reference to L. Frank Baum's characters in its original heyday. The Lilli Diamond label was founded in early-1950s Los Angeles by Al Diamond, in tribute to his wife, the titular Lilli. Until the brand ceased production in the 1980s, it was known for glamorous cocktail dresses and eveningwear, like Grande's.
Grande's dress comes from a label with Old Hollywood roots.
Grande let her moment of fashion history shine with delicate diamond stud earrings. (Over-accessorizing simply isn't in her vocabulary.) An effortless French manicure felt perfectly Parisian, while staying loyal to Grande's personal style.
Her penchant for delicate diamonds will never fade.
Shortly after the premiere, Grande revealed a never-before-seen Givenchy gown on her Instagram. The satin select didn't make the cut for the Paris premiere, but the actor still modeled its bubblegum pink glamour. The skintight shift dress—though custom-made by Sarah Burton—mirrored the nostalgic charm of Audrey Hepburn's little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's (minus the pearl necklace and opera gloves).
An elongated cape cascaded from her shoulder blades into a train, which billowed ever-so-elegantly with each step. Grande relished in the gown's drama. (She is a former theater kid, after all.) So much so, she let it shine all on its own. The same diamond earrings, plus a pink hair clip atop her bun, acted as her only sparklers. Ultra-pointy stilettos from Gianvito Rossi peeked out from underneath the floor-length skirt.
Ariana's other fuchsia find is not to be missed.
Give it up for the back of the dress.
Grande has done it again: Kicked off another Wicked press tour with ease and opulence. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show that is Grande's Glinda era. She's coming for all the "Best Dressed" accolades, too.
